


Ink my skin with your name.

by Writor



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-09
Updated: 2013-11-09
Packaged: 2017-12-31 21:15:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1036477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writor/pseuds/Writor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam knows the moment he wakes up that it's not Louis laying beside him. It's Louis' body and Louis' voice slowly starting to freak out. That was his second hint that Louis was gone, the first was that he hadn't woken up with a small weight on his chest and lips pressed to his jaw.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ink my skin with your name.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been ill for the past three days and decided to write an entire fic based on [this](http://writor.tumblr.com/post/66380330363/ruffiticus-mspoffin-i-had-a-dream-where) text post.

Liam knows the moment he wakes up that it's not Louis laying beside him. It's Louis' body and Louis' voice slowly starting to freak out. That was his second hint that Louis was gone, the first was that he hadn't woken up with a small weight on his chest and lips pressed to his jaw.

"Where am I?" Louis' voice squeaks and then quieter. "Who are you?"

Liam rubs at his eyes, trying to get his brain and body to fully wake up. "Give me a minute."

The bed beside him goes silent, the sound from the traffic outside the only thing now surrounding the room. Liam drags himself to a sitting position, sneaks a glance to his side. Louis' sat there (or Louis' body is) still shirtless and wearing the sleep pants Liam had forced him in to the night before.

It's the beginning of January and they can't afford to run the heating through the night, as much as Liam liked to sleep naked, he'd rather the pair of them be alive than die of hyperthermia. Louis had argued until he was blue in the face, even offered Liam a morning blowjob. Liam had made him compromise, he either wore a sleep shirt or pants -which Louis had only agreed to if Liam only wore a sleep shirt or pants too. The last thing he remembers is falling asleep with Louis' cold feet pressing against his bare calves, while his hand tried to warm up the goose bums traveling across the other lad’s bare arm.

"Tea." Liam says. "We're going to need lots of it."

'Tea solves everything.' Louis had told him once and Liam tries his best to believe that.

Then he climbs from the bed, collecting an extra pair of pants and shirt from the bottom of the chest of draws. He throws the shirt on to the bed and pulls the pants over his naked lower half. The body scrambles forward to reach for the article of clothing - nearly falling off the bed in the process. Liam chews down on his lower lip, already missing his Louis.

Once they're both in more appropriate clothing, he heads out of the bedroom, the person in Louis' body following quickly after. Their apartment isn't much, he knows that, they're saving up to put a deposit on a house and have been for the past year. Thirty pound out of each of their banks each week go in to their savings. Sometimes they can't afford to pay the heating bill or have to go for a week living off cereal. Liam knows it's worth it, especially when they go to check the balance and Louis' face would light up each time the amount got closer to their goal.

"You've got a lovely place." Louis' voice whispers.

That's when Liam realises that he's just been stood in the door to the kitchen, lost in his own memory. The person is stood behind him, fiddling with the bottom of the sleep shirt. It's a gesture foreign to Liam, his Louis never got nervous or if he did, he'd make some joke to cover it up. It's that small gesture that makes him realise, this person, this girl or boy is far away from their own life, in a body they don't know.

"Thank you." He replies after a beat.

The body hovers in the kitchen doorway until Liam gestures for it to take a seat at one of the stools surround the island.

"Would you like anything to eat?" Liam asks, only moving to make switch the kettle on when the person shakes Louis' head.

The water slowly begins to boil behind him as he leans his back against the counter, his eyes on the person across the room.

"What's your name?" He asks.

The person lifts Louis' head from where they had dropped it down to stare at a stain on the counter. "Harry."

"So you're a..."

"I'm a guy." Harry nods Louis' head.

Liam lets a breath of relief leave his body. "Thank god, Louis would have been a terror in a woman's body."

"Louis?" Harry asks. "That's his name?"

There's some kind of glint in his eye that Liam tries his best to ignore. Instead, he nods his head as an answer to the question and makes a move to get two cups from the cupboard. He tries not to think about what this whole body swapping means, they'd been told enough times by teachers, parents and several moves made on the subject. It happens to everyone, the new years following their twenty first birthday. They swap bodies with the person who is supposedly their soul-mate.

Liam's had friends it's happened to, one day he'd gone to his best mate Andy's house only to find him crying on the sofa, that was the day he'd met Olivia. It had happened to both of his older sisters, gladly they had both been away from home when it happened, which meant he didn't have to witness them both being possessed by men. His parents had told him about their own story, how they'd met only months before the actual incident took place. That's what Liam hoped for, what he and Louis hoped for, that they were each other’s and had only met before the due date came.

Turns out that was the furthest from the truth.

"How do you take your tea?" He asks, while slipping tea bags in to each cup.

"A little milk, no sugar." Harry replies quietly.

Obviously he's not used to the sound of Louis' voice yet. His words are coming out a lot slower than Liam's used to hearing coming from Louis. The other lad is usually loud, brash and the pace of his voice quite hard to keep up with, especially if he's excited. Harry seems to be the opposite, quiet and calm, as if he's choosing every word thoughtfully.

There's silence from the two of them as Liam moves around making the two cups of tea. Once he's done, he places a cup in front of Harry and clasps his own in his hand, sitting down in the stool opposite the lad.

"Where are we?" Harry questions, after sipping at his tea.

"London." Liam informs him.

"I'm still in London." Harry smiles as if he’s relieved. "From your accent, I thought we were a little further west."

"I'm from the west midlands." Liam shrugs. "Lou's from Yorkshire."

"Yorkshire." Harry tests the words on his new tongue. "It's a lovely accent."

Liam nods, lifting his tea to his lips, still trying to get used to the way Harry speaks using Louis' voice.

"My Zayn's from Yorkshire." Harry says. "The west side, Bradford."

"I know of it." Liam nods and then more questionable. "Your Zayn?"

Harry reaches a hand up to tug fingers through Louis' hair. "You're not the only one who was impatient for love."

The thought of Harry being the same situation as them, settles his heart a little. To only have it ache again when he notices the light missing from those familiar blue eyes.

"You say you're from London?"

Harry drops the hand back down to the counter, tracing the stain with a fingertip. "Yes, we live in an apartment in primrose hill."

It clicks in his head then, the expensive apartment, the boyfriend named Zayn and the slow way of speaking. "Christ, you're not Harry Styles?"

There's a small nod of Louis' head, the grin Liam had come to love over the past few years, spreading slowly across the other lads face.

"Fuck." Liam blurts, laughing breathlessly. "Harry Styles."

"That's my name, don't wear it out." Harry jokes.

Liam sets his tea back down on the counter and stares at Harry - Louis' body. "Louis' gonna have a field day with this."

"Speaking of…" Harry starts, setting down his own tea. "Do you have a phone?"

"Of course." Liam moves from his stool and out of the kitchen, he goes in to the bedroom and collects his phone from where it's charging on the bedside table.

Harry's waiting in the living room when he comes back out, one cup of tea resting on the coffee table as he sits on the couch, his own in hand. Liam sits down beside him, handing over the phone in exchange for the tea. Harry types in a number and presses the phone to his ear. Liam waits with bated breath for Harry to begin speaking to someone on the other end of the phone.

"Hello…" Harry says and then in a softer tone. "Hi babe."

Liam smiles a little, there's a twinkle in those blue eyes again but this time Liam know it's got nothing to do with him.

"I'm fine, I’m fine." Harry reaches out for the tea in Liam's hands. "I've been made tea and offered breakfast, I think I’d like to stay here actually."

Liam's smile turns in to a crinkly grin as Harry laughs fondly.

"I hope you're treating Louis well." He says and then there's a pause. "Of course he can speak to Liam."

Harry holds the phone out to him then, moving the tea in his hand towards his lips. "Liam?"

"That's my name don't wear it out." Liam jokes, taking the phone.

He doesn't know why it takes him so long to put it to his ear, though when an unfamiliar voice is cautiously asking if it's him, he's reminded.

"It's me." He says quietly.

"Liam..." The voice says fondly, it's so very Louis. It makes his heart hurt to hear that fondness coming from someone else, knowing the reason behind it.

"Lou, do you..." He starts, not really know what he wants to ask.

The line goes silent for a moment and then the voice is quiet. "It's still you, yeah?"

Liam wants to cry, wants to throw things because this wasn't supposed to happen, there wasn't supposed to be another person. They were supposed to each other’s forever, he was supposed to wake up this morning in Louis' body. Not in bed with someone else in Louis body.

Harry's looking at him with Louis' goddamn knowing eyes and that only makes it hurt more.

"Yeah." He whispers.

"Good." Louis sighs with a mixture of relief and sadness. "Zayn wants to meet up for lunch, he said Harry knows a place. We'll meet there in about an hour."

"Okay."

"I lov--" Louis starts but Liam cuts him off.

"Don't." He says. "Not in his voice."

"Okay, okay." Louis replies in a slow drawl Liam's never going to get used to. "I'll see you in an hour."

He hangs up the phone and drops it on to the cushion beside him, burying his head into his hands. A comforting hand comes to his shoulder, squeezing gently. Liam lets himself wallow for a moment before he finally pulls himself together.

"We need to meet them for lunch." He tells Harry. "Lou said Zayn said you know a place."

"Yeah." Harry nods Louis' head. "The cafe in Selfridges, no one ever bothers us there."  
Liam makes a move then, abandoning the tea on the table. He offers Harry the shower first, embarrassed when he has to show him how to hold the showerhead because the arm broke. He gets out some Louis approved clothes and then some for himself. When Harry comes out, he gestures to the clothes on the bed and goes to shower himself. Maybe he lingers for a little while, finally letting his head think about what's actually happening.

The couples he'd seen goes through this had been single when they met. Andy was a real ladies man before the thing with Olivia happened. Now there's not a time Liam has been out with Andy and Olivia hasn't been there. Both his sisters had been at university and single when there's happened too. His parents, well that's the story he and Louis had prayed for. This situation, they never let themselves think of this situation or what they would do if it occurred.

When he finally comes out of the bathroom, towel loosely wrapped around his waist. Harry's sat on the end up the bed but he's not dressed in the clothes Liam had laid out. Instead he's in a dark pair of jeans and a black T that Liam knows is his by the way it hangs off Louis' small frame.  
"I'm not wearing jogging bottoms in public." Harry complains. "And I don't like fitted t-shirts."

"Fine, it's fine." Liam replies, collecting his own clothes and heading back in to the bathroom.

This time when he returns it's to Harry frowning in to their shared wardrobe. Liam can't help but smile; he always thought Louis looked cute when he frowned.

"Doesn't he own any boots?"

Liam glances over Harry – Louis’ - shoulder, even though he already knows the answer. "You can either wear the black vans or the white vans. They're you're only choices."

"Do you own any boots?"

Liam chuckles then shakes his head fondly. "Even if I did, he's two sizes smaller than me."

"I could have stuffed the hells." Harry comments. "I guess I’ll have to go with the black vans."

"Good choice." Liam nudges his shoulder against the other lads. "We've gotta get the tube so we should really get going."

"I haven't been on the tube in forever." Harry says loudly, it's the closest to Louis' normal voice that Liam had heard all morning.

"I guess you've got a pretty noticeable face." Liam shrugs, reaching for his own shoes from the wardrobe.

There's a beanie hooked on the door of the wardrobe and Harry lifts it off, tugging it on to Louis' head. Liam looks up once he's pulled on both of shoes.

"You should untuck his fringe." He tells the other lad. "He'll kill the both of us if you don't."

Harry tries his best to move the beanie around to have the fringe untucked without the beanie falling off. Liam bats his hands out of the way and situates the beanie the way he'd seen Louis do a thousand times.

"Are we still dead men?" Harry asks.

Liam shakes his head, brushing Louis' fringe gently to the right. "We'll survive."

"Good." Harry says softly. "Shall we go?"

Liam takes his hand back quickly; only then realizing he was stroking his thumb across Louis' temple. The sound of Louis' voice in Harry's tone making him notice that it wasn't Louis.

"Sorry." He mutters, turning on his foot to head in to the living room.

He grabs his phone from where he'd abandoned it on the couch and collects his bag and jacket off the hook. Harry's hovering behind him and Liam passes him Louis' denim jacket. It takes him three attempts to lock the apartment door, after his first attempt, Louis would normally take over. The other lad had found a knack to make the door click the right way, which Liam was still yet to learn, even though they'd live there for over a year.

Harry's like an excitable little bunny the entire walk to the tube station and the emotion looks so weird to be seen on Louis' body. Liam half heartedly listens as Harry talks to him about the first time he had to get the tube, back when he'd just won the X factor. The story took the entire walk to the train for Harry to tell, even though it could have take him about two minutes.

"Morning Ryan." He greets the guy behind the ticket counter. "Two to waterloo, please?"

"You two in a fight?" Ryan asks, gesturing towards Harry who's stood a few paces back, looking around the station like he'd never been to one before.

"No." Liam shakes his head. "Lou's a bit off today, that's all."

Ryan slips two tickets under the glass as Liam hands him a ten-pound note. "How was your new years?"

"Good, it was good." Liam nods. "And yours?"

"I met a bird." Ryan grins, handing over the change. "This one's a life changer."

"You say that with every girl you sleep with." Liam laughs, tucking the change in his back pocket. "We'll see how long you keep this one."

"Hopefully as long as you have Lou."

Liam doesn't reply, can't reply, he just offers Ryan a small parting smile. He grabs Harry's arm and leads him through the ticket machines and down the escalators. Harry starts another story as the wait for the train, this time it's about when he went on a train with his mother as a kid. Liam zones out after Harry starts explaining in detail what food they'd had while traveling.

The train pulls up and Liam's phone starts to buzz in his pocket. He gives Harry a nudge towards the crowd of people getting on and tugs the phone out.

"Hello." He answers without looking at the caller ID, keeping a tight grip on the back of Louis' denim jacket to make sure Harry doesn't disappear with the crowd of passengers.

"Zayn wants to know if he should send you a car?"

Liam's brain takes a moment, in the fog of trying to do two things at once, to figure out the person on the other end of the phone is Louis.

"We're already on the tube." Liam explains. "We'll be about ten minutes."

"Liam?" Harry attempts to turn and look at him in the crowded train.

"Lou, hold on a minute, yeah?" He says and then raises his eyebrows at Harry.

Harry ducks Louis' head the way he had this morning, it so unfamiliar to Liam that he despises the gesture. "Could I use your phone to talk to Zayn?"

Liam tightens his grip on the denim jacket and nods. "Lou, could you put Zayn on?"

There's no reply on the other end for a moment, then his ears are met by a very unfamiliar voice. "Liam, right?"

"Yeah." He breathe hitches slight. "Zayn?"

"Look after him, yeah? He's not good with public transport." Zayn says in form of an answer.

Liam tugs Louis' body closer to him, as if to complete Zayn's request. "I've got him."

Then he hands the phone to Harry, who instantly starts talking in that voice Liam hates. He doesn't loosen his grip on the denim jacket, even when the train comes to stops and people try to move between them. Harry stays on the phone the entire time and Liam dreads to think how much his bill is going to be at the end of the month. Louis would pinch him for every thinking such a thing at a time like this. The thought only makes him smile because if he can think of such minor things, he must be more comfortable with the situation than he originally thought.

When the train arrives at their stop, he takes the phone from Harry, letting the lad say a short goodbye before he hangs up and slips it back in to his pocket. Liam doesn't know why he keeps ahold of Harry, always holding some part of Louis' body as they move through the crowds. Some part of him thinks it's because Zayn asked, another part thinks it's his subconscious brain thinking it's still Louis.

By the time they're back on the streets of London, he's got his an entire arm wrapped around Louis' small waist. Harry's off on another tangent, this time Liam doesn't catch any part of the story. He's to busy rushing them through human traffic, trying to get him closer to Louis as fast he can.

Harry stops mid story when they reach the outside of Selfridges. "So this is it, huh?"

"You okay?" Liam asks, tugging Louis' body a little closer to his side.

"I don't who I’m more nervous to see." Harry whispers. "Your Louis or my Zayn."

Someone holds the door open for them just as Liam's about to reply and he gently ushers Harry to go first. He thanks the man and leads them both to the escalator. Liam doesn't really know who he's looking for when they get to the third floor and finally the cafe. He knows Harry's face from where it's been splashed all over the place for the past three years but it's not familiar enough for him to spot in public place.

Apparently Harry does spot someone, tugging himself from Liam's grip as he practically sprints across the cafe. Liam follows slowly, finally setting his eyes on the face he'd seen on the cover of the sun only a few days ago. Louis' body collides with another and Liam notices him too, only because he'd been the one leading Harry out of the club in said picture. He takes his time to reach the three of them and when he does, there are long limbs finding their way around him, a head trying to tuck itself under his chin.

The movement is something Louis has done since Liam became the taller of the two. He only does it when he's upset or trying to stop Liam being upset. Hardly ever does Louis want to feel like the more docile of the two them.

Liam close his eyes, tightens his grip around the foreign frame and buries his face in to the scent of a man's body he doesn't know.

"It's still you." Louis (with Harry's voice) whispers close to his ear.

Liam lets out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. Then another voice, the one he had heard through the phone only moments ago on the train, makes them pull apart.

Zayn's hand is now entwined with Louis' tanned one and he's tugging the body with him as he takes a step forward. The image makes his blood boil because he's still looking at his boyfriend with someone else. Then he notices his own arm is still wrapped tightly around Harry's body and he feels guilty.

"Harry this is Louis." Zayn introduces. "Louis, Harry."

The two boys take each other in, examining their own bodies from someone else perspective. It creeps Liam out to watch Harry's head tilt the way Louis does when he's first meeting someone.

"You're face is really well known, mate." Louis says. "its kind of annoying."

"Yeah, well the guy at the train station thought your boyfriend was pissed off because I wasn't all cuddly with him." Harry shrugs Louis' shoulders. "We're both not liking this situation."

"You heard that?"

Louis' blue eyes meet his. "He wasn't exactly quiet about it."

"I don't sound like that." Louis says, tilting Harry's head to look at Liam. "Do I?"

"No." Liam sighs. "He's been doing it all morning, it's really creeping me out."

"Hey..." Harry squawks and it sounds especially weird in Louis' Yorkshire accent.

Zayn interrupts them then; the calm look on his face makes Liam want to punch him. How can he be so calm when the guy he's in love with is soul mates with another person?

"So, you two should probably spend some time together." Zayn states and now Liam really wants to punch him.

Liam hadn't realised he'd tightened his grip until Louis moves Harry's body uncomfortably under his hand. He chances a glance down and there's green eyes staring back at him, he can read them though, just like when they were a sea of blue.

"It's okay." He tells Louis. "You need to find out why this happened, right?"

"I'm scared."

The whisper is in Louis' voice and when he looks over to where Louis' body is, it's to find Zayn cuddling it close. Louis' face is buried in to the other lad’s neck and Liam has to turn his attention away.

"Still you, always you." Louis – in Harry's slow drawl – tells him.

Liam gives Harry's body one last squeeze and then lets go. It takes a moment longer for Zayn to finally let go of Louis' body.

"Fancy taking a look around?" He asks the other lad.

Zayn meets his eyes, nodding slowly before looking back to Louis' body. "Stay here and talk, okay? I'll come back for you."

"Promise?" Harry pleads.

Liam winces, he knows he's not going to get used to it, hearing Louis' voice doing things it shouldn't. Louis isn't the type to show his weakness, he'll hide it deep inside himself until Liam slowly draws him out. To hear Harry let Louis' voice crack so easily (which Liam had only heard it do one time before, when Louis' nan had died), it breaks something inside him. It reminds him that his Louis isn't inside that body and why.

"Just talk, that's all you have to do for now." Zayn says softly.

Liam steps back then because he can't watch anymore; he walks away from the three without a word of explanation. He makes it to the escalator before Zayn catches up to him.

"He's only nineteen." Zayn seethes. "You could be less of an ass."

Liam steps on the escalator, gripping tightly to the rubber. "I'm sorry."

"Look, it's hard for all of us--" Zayn starts.

Liam starts to walk down the escalator, effectively cutting off the end of Zayn's sentence. The other lad waits a minute before jogging down after him. Liam’s is stepping off the escalator, about to walk in to the men's clothing area of the shop when Zayn grabs his arm.

"Liam…" He tries.

"What?" Liam snaps. "What could you possibly have to say? I'm sorry your boyfriend isn't meant to be yours. I'm sorry the love of your life belongs to someone else. You might be able to deal with that---I can't. I just can't."

Zayn tugs him forward, wrapping skinny arms around Liam's built frame. Liam's never been comfortable with strangers touching him, even with Louis as a boyfriend for the past four years. Louis, who will hug anyone and anything, is willing to give him a small ounce of affection. It's different when Zayn tucks his chin over Liam's shoulder, it feels reassuring and Liam finds himself sinking in to the touch.

"He's yours and Harry's mine." Zayn whispers. "I know that much."

Liam sighs, still not quite trusting himself to believe those words. The world is telling him different, the world had planned for Louis and Harry to be each other’s forever. No one told him when he was younger that you could love someone who wasn't your soul mate. It was always the new years of your 21st birthday you will posses the body of your one true love and then when you find them, you are destined to be together until death parts you. There's no guide book for this crap, nothing telling him what to do should this situation occur.

"Lets get them some clothes they'd like to wear." Liam says, taking a deep breath as he pulls back. "Harry looked like he wanted to kill someone when I told him the only shoes Louis owned was vans."

"You should have heard Louis ranting when I showed him Hazza's wardrobe." Zayn laughs and then does an extremely good Harry impression. "Does this boy own any clothes without holes in. I thought he was a millionaire. How many pairs of suede boots does one guy need?"

Liam grins a little, it sounds exactly like his Louis. "You know Harry's size, right?"

"Of course." Zayn nods, hooking his arm around Liam's shoulder. "Lets get those two brats some clothes."

///

They spend a good hour searching the entire men's floor for clothes that both boys would like. Zayn ends up paying for everything, even though Liam tries to argue. He just says that technically the body Louis is in is Harry's and then he wouldn't let Liam pay for the clothes Harry would want because they were ridiculously expensive. It took the young guy behind the counter rolling his eyes for Liam to just give in.

They get back to the cafe, they don't find two happy people like they expected to. In fact each boy goes to their respective boyfriends, with complaints about the other.

"He's so annoying." Louis complains to Liam, trying to control long limbs to wrap himself in Liam's arms. "He takes hours to tell a bloody story, like I’ll be dead by the time he gets to the point."

Liam pats Harry's back gently, with a strain of his ear; he tries to hear what complaints Harry has for Zayn.

“.... He’s really sarcastic as well, he kept complaining about my hair and clothes."  
"Can we go home?"

Liam looks down to the green eyes pleading with him and frowns. "I don't know if--"

"Harry has a interview tomorrow." Zayn says. "You'll have to do it or people will question things."

"Can't you just explain the situation?" Liam asks.

"Explain that Harry's found his soul-mate but they actually hate each other?" Zayn raises his eyebrow. "We don't even understand this situation, how do we explain that to an entire fan base?"

"I don't even know why he has a fan base." Louis mumbles.

"Jerk." Harry grumbles, shoving Louis' face into Zayn's neck.

Liam rests his head on top of Harry's, trying to comfort Louis as best he can. He raises his eyebrows at Zayn and the other lad gives a helpless shrug.

"How about we go back to ours? Try and figure this situation somewhere more private." Liam suggests.

Louis nods Harry's head against his chest, fisting hands in the back of Liam's shirt. Those two signals let Liam know he's starting to freak out.

"You'll be okay when we get home." Liam whispers softly. "Familiar place and all that."

They get a car back to their apartment, upon Zayn's demand. Apparently taking Louis – Harry's body – on the tube could end dangerously for everyone involved.

Once they're actually inside the building, he watches the tension fall from Harry's body, like the familiarity of the place was enough to calm Louis down.

"Anyone for a cuppa?" Liam asks, after opening the apartment door.

Louis flops Harry's body down on the couch. "Please, babe."

Liam cringes and catches Zayn frown from the corner of his eyes. Louis either doesn't notice what he's said or chooses to ignore it. Liam goes with the latter, mostly because he's used to Louis never admitting he's wrong. Harry cautiously sits Louis' body down beside his own on the couch.

"I wouldn't mind one." He agrees quietly.

The tone of his voice is the same as it was earlier and it still makes Liam wince. He makes quick work on heading to the kitchen, attempting to distract himself with making the tea. Zayn stands in front of the two on the couch, talking about some kind of plan he concocted in his head on the way over.

Somehow by the time he's made four cups of tea, carrying two in to the living room, the three are now sat extremely close on the couch. Harry and Louis looking over Zayn's shoulder to look at something on Zayn's phone.

Liam puts the two cups on the coffee table, catching Louis' attention. He smiles, his own unique smile somehow on Harry's lips and Liam attempts to hold his own.

"What you doing?"

Louis glances back down at the phone in Zayn's hand and then back at Liam. "Zayn thinks I should watch videos of Harry on YouTube, try and copy his mannerisms."

"You always wanted to be an actor." Liam states.

"This brings a whole new meaning to 'put yourself in their shoes'." Louis jokes and Harry laughs loudly.

All three look at him, especially Liam, whose never heard a laugh like that come out of Louis. Harry only shrugs bashfully, burying Louis' face in Zayn's shoulder.

"I'll...uh...get the other tea." He says dumbly, stumbling back towards the kitchen.

When he returns, there's room beside Harry's body on the couch for him to sit down. Liam does, trying not wriggling too much when Louis places Harry's hand on his thigh. It's normal for them, to lean towards one another when in close proximity. They always seemed to have to be touching if they're in reaching distance of one another. Their friend Eleanor says it's a problem they should get checked out. Liam always thought it was some kind of soul-mate pull, now he doesn't know how to explain it.

They spend the rest of the afternoon watching video after video; they had to watch them all on Zayn's phone, being as neither Liam nor Louis could afford the internet that month. By the time the sun is coming down in the sky, they're all exhausted. Especially Louis who'd spent the past two hours trying to get Harry's mannerisms down to point.

Liam clears the dirty cups away just as Louis announces he's ordering a pizza. Which he does and they all huddle around the tiny coffee table, talking and eating. They talk about family, likes and dislikes. Louis and Harry end up arguing over a lot of those things and that only makes the situation ten times more confusing.

When it gets to be late enough that Harry's body is practically suffocating him from how tired Louis is, he suggests they all go to sleep. He offers their tiny spare room to Harry and Zayn, who must be too exhausted to decline. They stumble of in the direction Liam points and it's weird to him, watching his boyfriend’s body disappear in to a room with another man.

"You're still freaked out by this?" Louis asks.

"I think it's gonna take me more than twenty four hours to not be freaked out by this." Liam replies.

Louis drags Harry's body to a standing position. "We'll switch back and when we do, we'll never have to see them again."

"No sure that's how it works, Lou." Liam sighs, pulling his own aching body from the floor.

Louis drops a heavy arm around his shoulder. "It's you, don't you ever forget that."

"I'm trying not to." He admits, letting Louis lead them to their bedroom.

It's awkward getting ready for bed; they try their normal routine of undressing and then brushing their teeth. Louis' still not comfortable enough with the new body, he keeps tripping over his own legs – not use to the length – and knocking his elbows in to things. Liam would find it comical, if Louis didn't keep looking at him with these sad green eyes, every time it happened.

It's worse when they're actually in the bed, he's used to being the big spoon now or the bigger party. Louis usually curls up in to a small ball, the only time he lets Liam protect him from the world. Harry's body is almost the same size if not bigger than Liam's. It's not easy to curl and around someone who's shoulders are as broad as yours, or have someone that heavy sleep on your chest.

In the end they turn their backs to each other, huffing in annoyance. It doesn't stop Louis hooking his leg through Liam's, cold toes pressing against Liam's ankle.

"I know you don't want me to say it, with his voice and all." Louis says in to the darkness of the room. "But I do, a lot in fact."

"I love you too." Liam replies, wrapping his arms around a pillow and pretending it's his Louis.

///

The next day Louis does the interview perfectly and even stops afterwards to take pictures with Harry's fans. They go back to Harry and Zayn's place to celebrate what a good job he's done. While the other three get to work on getting glasses and wine, he settles on the couch, lost in his own thoughts.

Louis joins him after a few minutes, obviously noticing something's up. The fact he didn't even have to ask Liam what's wrong – he just knows. It makes Liam feel sick to his stomach because he still doesn't understand why.

"You haven't changed back." He points out.

Louis leans Harry's head down on his shoulder. "It probably just takes a few days."

"No, no it doesn't." Liam shakes his head. "Andy changed back the moment he and Olivia laid eyes on each other. My mum said she changed back as soon as my dad opened his apartment door. There's something wrong, Lou. There's something wrong with this whole situation."

"I think it's because they don't like each other." Zayn's voice makes the pair of them jump.

Harry's still in the kitchen, he's singing a song that Liam's sure comes from Lion King and it's the only thing Harry hasn't changed, the way Louis sings.

"My sister didn't like hers at first either." Zayn explains. "Once they spent time with each other and slowly realised how perfect they were for each other, they changed."

"So we've got to fall in love in order to change back?" Louis asks. "I guess I’m stuck in this oversized thing then."

"Hey." Zayn growls. "That's my boyfriend's body you're talking about so stop being a twat, yeah?"

Liam waits for Louis to retaliate but he doesn't, he just sinks Harry's body further into the couch. He closes his eyes and rests his head back against the couch, it had only been two days, but to Liam, it's felt like a lifetime. Zayn sighs, his footsteps echoing on the tiled floor as he returns to the kitchen.

"I don't want to be stuck in this body." Louis complains, lifting Harry's head to frown at Liam. "It's hard to control and you don't look at me the same when I’m in it."

"Lou..." He breathes.

"We've never gone this long without kissing." Louis says. "We've never gone this long without telling each other that we love each other, or sex, if this carries on I’m really gonna miss the sex."

"At least you'd be a good top in that body." Liam jokes.

Louis squawks and then chokes clearly not expecting that sound to come out of him. "How dare you question my topping ability, I’ll have you know---"

Liam kisses him then because that's the only way he's ever known to shut Louis up. It's weird, it's different, but it's still them and the way they slot together. Except, Harry's lips feel different under his own and he can't decide if he likes it or not. Then Louis does that thing with Harry's tongue that he had perfected with his own and he feels himself melt into the other lads touch.

It's a gasp and glass smashing against the floor that makes them pulls apart, like two teenagers just caught getting frisky by their parents.

Zayn looks furious and Harry looks like he has no control over what expression lands on Louis' face.

"That's – that's not happening." Zayn shakes his hand at the two of them. "It's really not fucking happening, okay?"

"I'm sorry." Liam aplogises. "It was all me, I’m so sorry."

"Don't let it happen again." Zayn barks, then turns on his foot and heads back in to the kitchen.

Harry stares wide eyed for a moment before Zayn calls his name and he scarpers off to the kitchen, tripping over twice on his way.

"Why did this have to happen?"

Liam's eyes are on the broken glass on the floor, shattered in to a million pieces, never to be glued back together. He doesn't want to end up like that glass, to loose the only thing that holds him together. Even it means having Louis in Harry's body for the rest of their lives, he'd rather have that, than not have Louis at all.

"Because if life were easy, no one would live." He replies.

Louis makes a noise of complaint, muttering something about wanting the dumb boy he'd met the first week of uni back. Liam laughs, wrapping an arm around Harry's body, to tug the boy he loves closer.

///

Harry has two other interviews over the next few days, both which Louis flies through with ease. Harry has a fit after the second one, complaining about Louis mocking him and locking himself in the bathroom for an hour. Zayn tries to ease him out but Harry's having none of it. So, Zayn just drops himself on to the couch with Liam and Louis, who are watching the entire serious of Harry on X-Factor. Louis tugs Harry's body from where he'd comfortably positioned it against Liam and storms upstairs to the bathroom Harry's locked in. There's a lot of yelling and some stomping and what sounds like a fists being banged against a wall. When they both come downstairs, Louis' face has tears on it and there's an angry look on Harry's. Neither expression goes with the body.

Louis drops Harry's body back next to Liam and Harry attempts to curl up in the small space between Zayn and Liam. The weird thing about it is how not weird it is. The familiar shape of Louis' body against his right side and at the same time, the press of Harry's body curled up to his left. It's like the best of both worlds, like having all of Louis there at once. He'd be happy, if he didn't feel Zayn's glare out of the corner of his eyes.

After a week, they start to get a little worried. Zayn says his sister only lasted two days before she fell head over heels in love with Damien (her soul-mate). Liam suggests they check the Internet for advice but that only comes back with terrifying answers. It's like goggling about someone who's lost their memory and reading all the horror stories where they never regain it.

"Maybe we should go to the doctor." Harry suggests when they're all piled on to the couch one morning.

"They'll probably tell us they don't know anything." Louis sighs.

Liam needs to go back university next week and so does Louis, their Christmas break ends Tuesday. Louis can't carry pretending to be Harry in public, not without someone finding out. He's already tried to murder people for grabbing him to roughly while exiting restaurants and such. Plus, Zayn looks like if he doesn't get off soon, he's going to drag either Harry or Louis in to the bedroom, which Liam doesn't want to happen at any cost.

"It's worth a try." He says. "It's better to check, they might know something. It may have happened before."

"Yeah, like those two people on that website, they killed each other in attempts to get their own bodies back." Harry replies.

"Lets not think about that." Zayn wraps a comforting arm around the other lad. "Liam's right, it's better to be safe than sorry."

They book a doctors appointment for that afternoon. The four of them fidget as they sit in the waiting room. Louis is making use of Harry's long legs and is striding back and forth in front of the chairs. Harry's curled Louis' small frame up in one of the chairs, his head tucked tightly in cove of Zayn's neck. Liam's sat in the chair beside Louis' body, reaching out now an again to grab Harry's hand, stroking it gently in a way he'll know will calm Louis.

It takes an hour for their names to be called, the four of them walking close together as they head down the hall to the doctors office. No one sits down as they wait for the little light to come on, letting them know they can go inside. Louis wraps Harry's large hand around Liam's, gripping a little to tightly. Zayn presses a hand to Liam's shoulder, squeezing tightly when the light finally beams.

Harry heads in first, settling in one of the chairs closest to the doctor. Liam offers Louis the other chair, while he and Zayn stand behind.

"How can I help you lads?" The doctor asks.

Liam explains the situation, they'd decided he would be the one to do it after figuring out Harry would take to long, Louis still didn't like the way he made Harry's voice sound and Zayn just hated doctors.

"So you're each others soul-mates." The man gestures to Louis and Harry, and then moves his gaze to Liam and Zayn. "And you’re the boyfriends."

Liam nods, curling his hands around the chair Harry's body possesses. "Yes, sir."

"Well the problem is obvious." He shrugs. "The reason you two have yet to switch is because you're holding on to a life you're not supposed to live."

"What does that mean?" Zayn demands.

"It means..." The doctor sighs. "That the only thing that will allow Louis and Harry to turn back is if they stop being in love with the both of you."

"So to be in our bodies, we have to stop being with the one's we love.'" Louis scoffs. "That's ridiculous."

"They're not who you love, they're who you think you love." The doctor moves his chair back to behind his desk. "The only thing I can do is prescribe you pills or suggest you wait until Harry turns twenty one."

"What happens when Harry turns twenty one?" Liam asks.

"Harry will be embodied into his soul-mate." The doctor explains.

"I thought you only had one soul-mate." Zayn inquires.

"You do but there have been cases where soul-mates have not been the same. A soul-mate for one person doesn't always mean they are that persons soul-mate in return."

"So I could be Harry's soul-mate?" Zayn questions hopefully.

"It's very rare." The doctor shakes his head. "Harry is Louis' soul-mate and they are yet to turn back because Louis believes he's in love with Liam. There's no telling whose Harry's soul-mate is, until that bond is broken."

"This is bullshit." Louis exclaims, trying to get Harry's body to stand up faster than it would react.

When he finally does find his feet, he's storming out of the office. Liam offers the doctor his apologies before chasing after his boyfriend.

"Lou, Lou, Lou..." He chants until he finally catches up, reaching out to grab Harry's arm.

Louis bows Harry's head when Liam turns him around. "It's not true, it's not."

"Babe..." He murmurs.

A shaky breath escapes Harry's body before the sobs finally break. Liam wraps his arms around the other lad, holding him tight against his chest.

"It's okay." He whispers, pressing a kiss to the mess of curls. "It'll be okay."

Louis clings to him more, as if Liam had already said the words, already said goodbye.

"You'll fall in love with and be happy." Liam explains gently. "All I want is for you to be happy."

"Not without you." Louis cries in to the skin of Liam's neck. "I can't do this without you, Li."

"That doesn't sound like my Louis." Liam sniffles back his own tears. "Where's the guy that told me he was going become a teacher, no matter who or what got in his way. Or the one who spent an entire summer saving up to road trip around Europe, on his own, at the age of seventeen."

Louis doesn't reply and wet tears begin travel down the dips in Liam's collarbone.

"You've being doing it for years without me, Lou." He mutters, holding on for just that moment longer.

"I love you." Louis blurts, pulling back to look up at him. "I love you so much."

"I know." He hushes, brushing the tears from Harry's cheeks with his thumbs. "But you'll learn to love him too and that's okay. I'll find my person just the same, a year from now."

Louis lets Harry's bottom lip tremble as he presses their foreheads together. "Promise not to like them as much as me."

Liam nods, closing his eyes. "Promise not to forget about me."

A silence comes over them; the only thing reaching Liam's ears is the sound of their breath mixing. For a moment he forgets the body Louis currently posses. He pretends to have the eighteen year old he'd met at student lock-in three years ago – who put up one hell of a fight over a Toy Story teddy that Liam wanted for himself and Louis wanted for his younger sisters. In the end Louis gave in, offering to take Liam out for coffee instead, while Liam pretended the teddy was for a nephew that didn't exist. – in his arms. He lets the memories they'd made over the past three years play like a movie on the back of his eyelids. The tears escaping from the corners of his eyes and down his nose. For a moment he pretends he wasn't naive enough to fall in love with someone who would never truly be his.

"We should go..." Louis sniffles, suddenly pulling back.

Liam presses his lips to Harry's forehead gently, pretending the skin beneath his lips is that he knows better than is own.

"Liam..." Louis says softly.

They part, taking a physical step back to separate them completely. Harry and Zayn are edging their way slowly down the corridor towards them. He can't look at anyone, especially not Louis' body, knowing the boy who's currently controlling it, is the one who will get the happily ever after he's always wanted.

"We should go." Louis repeats.

Liam's limbs move of their own accord, walking out of the doctors ahead of the others. He climbs in to the passenger seat of the awaiting car, not wanting to be near anyone.

Louis has the driver drop them off at their apartment, for the first time in a week, Zayn and Harry don’t follow them up. Liam has to bang his shoulder against their apartment door to get it to open and Louis sighs impatiently from behind him. They don't talk, keeping this small distance of space between them as they head to the bedroom.

Liam gets his overnight bag from the wardrobe, dropping it on to the bed. Louis settles Harry's body beside it, unzipping all of the pockets to allow Liam to fill them.

"Where are you going to go?"

"Home." Liam replies quietly, opening his underwear draw. "I haven't been there in a while."

"Karen will be happy." Louis agrees. "She always told me off for keeping her boy from her."

Liam focuses on collecting up enough underwear for a few weeks stay and definitely doesn't think about how Louis used to have monthly calls with his mother, just idle chitchat, for hours on end. He drops the underwear in the rucksack, one by one, almost like his mind is trying to delay him.

Louis sits patiently, arranging some things that Liam just dumps in the bag. When the bag is filled, he zips it up and places is close to the bedroom door.

"Come here." Louis says gently, patting the bed beside.

It takes a minute for his brain to release himself from autopilot to maneuver his body towards the spot on the bed. Louis reaches out for his hands once he's sat down.

"Be happy." Louis pleads. "Promise me you'll be happy."

Liam nods, entwining his fingers with the ones that don't slip between his the same as Louis' smaller ones once had. He strokes his thumb across that hand, only now noticing the small scar that sits just above the end of the pinky finger. His heart starts to ache again, at the thought of Louis finding out what that scar is, of Louis finding out all those things about Harry. All those things Louis had once spent time finding out about him.

"Liam…" Louis pleads, the way Harry's voice breaks catching Liam's attention.

When he looks up, it's to be met by watery green eyes. "Just be happy with him, don't stop yourself because of me. This is the way it's supposed to be. It doesn't help if the both of us our miserable for the rest of our lives."

"So I just let you be miserable alone instead?" Louis scoffs.

Liam tightens his grip on the hand in his own. "I'm not going to be happy right away but I told you, I’ll find my person. That's why this happens, right? To make sure everyone meets that special one."

"I really do hope they make you happy." Louis whispers. "If I can't, someone should."

"You always made me happy, Lou." Liam reminds him. "I'm never going to forget these past three years. It's just our time to move on. It's the end of the Louis and Liam chapter in our life stories."

There's a moment of silence and then really quietly Louis whispers. "I wish it wasn't."

"Me too." Liam replies gently, slowly untangling their hands.

That's the last words they say to each other and Liam leans forward, leaving one last kiss on unfamiliar lips and hopes the boy beneath them, will always remember him.

A part of him wishes Louis would stop him when he finally moves from the bed to collect his bag from the door. He knows when the older lad stays silent that he's doing it for Liam's benefit not his own. It would far harder to walk away from someone pleading with you to stay.

He takes his time making his way out of the apartment, trying to carve every memory in to his brain. He knows he'll have to return at some point, to collect the rest of his belongings. Louis won't be a part of his life by then and Liam wants those memories pushed to the far back of his brain by that point.

The worst part isn't that they don't say goodbye.  
The worst part is once he steps foot out of the apartment – he never looks back.

  
O N E Y E A R L A T E R

  
"We have to meet Zayn and the others at the bar in ten minutes." Liam calls. "What could possibly be taking you so long?"

An image of bright blonde hair suddenly appears in the doorway leading to the bedrooms. "I couldn't find a pair of fecking shoes, your damn dog chewed his way through most of them."

As if on queue, Loki lets out a small whine from his place tucked under the coffee table. Liam chances a glance in his direction, causing the dog to scurry out and over to him.

"Damn thing hates me, I swear." The blonde scowls.

Liam bends down, stroking the back of Loki's neck. "He doesn't hate you, Ni."

"He hates my shoes." Niall scoffs.

"That could possibly be true." Liam gives Loki's neck a gentle squeeze and then straightens up.

Niall tugs his jacket from the hook close to the door. "Are you ready for this?"

"No." Liam sighs, tugging his fingers through his hair. "What if I end up on the other end of the earth? I'm not good with other languages, Ni."

"You can barley speak English." Niall chuckles, ducking when Liam reaches out to swat him.

"You'll be fine, mate. I'm sure whoever they are, they've got friends and family willing to help."

"I hope so." He lets out a long breath. "You're so lucky that you have another year."

"And you'll be there to help me when I’m panicking." Niall winks, reaching for Liam's jacket and throwing it at him.

Liam pulls the familiar leather over his body. "You haven't freaked out a day in your life."

"No true..." Niall starts, opening the apartment. "The day you and Zayn walked into my bar, I freaked out a lot –you were both bloody gorgeous."

Liam lets out a low chuckle, putting a hand to Niall's shoulder to lead him out of the apartment. "Is that the reason you took us on the moment we asked?"

"Yes." Niall nods immediately. "Getting to watch two hot guys pour pints all day, what guy would refuse."

"You are ridiculous." Liam shakes his head, leading Loki back into the apartment when he follows them out.

He settles the dog on his bed, stroking him until he settles and then makes his way back out of the apartment to where Niall still waits. Niall locks the door and they both head towards the elevator.

"Do you recon Z's freaking out?" Niall questions as they step inside.

Liam shrugs his shoulders, pressing the button for the ground floor. "More than likely, he's been overanalyzing it since his birthday."

"Poor lad." Niall frowns. "I caught him looking at magazine one of the girls left on the bar the other day."

Liam's body tenses, not knowing that and really wishing he did. "What did he do?"

"Stared for a really long time." Niall shrugs. "I asked him to clear up the empty glasses and he snapped himself out of it. He was pretty lost for a while though."

"Shit." Liam scrubs at the scruff on his jaw with his fingertips.

Niall gestures for him to step out of the lift first when it reaches the ground floor. "I think it was just his lad on the cover."

The words are supposed to be comforting but the only thing Liam see's in his mind is the very last picture he had seen of Louis, the picture that had pushed him to grab Zayn and flee to Ireland. It was just a candid of Louis and Harry leaving some nightclub with a few friends, hands intertwined. The thing that made Liam's heart break was the wide grin on Louis' face as he obviously bantered with the paps. He was happy, just as Liam had asked him to be and that part had him relieved but his heart couldn't take looking at pictures like that anymore.

Ireland didn't seem, as obsessed with Harry as the rest of the world, there were odd articles in magazines, that Liam had made a habit of hiding from Zayn. They found quite a secluded area, where the only TV to watch is the odd few channels, that don't involve any music what so ever. The magazines usually reached the pub by the few teenage girls that would attend on the lunch hour. Liam would have thrown them in bin if they were ever left behind, wouldn't even take a chance to glance at the front cover as he did.

It really sucked, after a year of discarding them, that only a few days before one of the most nerve wracking days of their lives, he'd missed one.

"We need to get a pint in you." Niall says, wrapping his arm around Liam's shoulder as they head out of their apartment block.

When they reach the restaurant, their table is already crowded with friends. Everyone's already in a merry moody, swallowing down drinks to ring in the New Year. Niall heads straight to the bar, pushing Liam towards the table on his way. Liam's instinct to search for Zayn, finding himself smiling when Zayn's tucked up at the end of the table, girls surrounding him.

"Having fun?" He asks.

Zayn gives him a blinding grin, patting the small space on bench next to him. The blonde, Perrie, who's had a blinding crush on Zayn since the day they got here, has no trouble allowing him to move closer to her.

"You're already drunk aren't you."

"I could be on the other side of the world this time tomorrow." Zayn slurs. "Might as well enjoy my last night of freedom."

Liam rolls his eyes playfully, slipping a friendly arm around Zayn's shoulder. "What are we drinking?"

"Beer, because we're men." Zayn cheers and soon the whole table follow.

This time when Liam rolls his eyes, it isn't playful. "Okay, maybe you've had enough for now."

"Don't be dull, Leeyum." Zayn whines. "It's your last night of freedom too."

Jade, a pretty brunette that Liam's done a few shifts with sits down on his other side. "Perrie's been feeding him drinks for over an hour, you're not going to get any sense from him."

Liam sighs, leaning forward to rest his elbow on the table and his head in his palm.

"She'll find hers tomorrow too." Jade explains. "I think they're both feeding off each others nervous energy."

"Lets hope he doesn't wind up wherever he goes with a hangover." Liam replies, turning his head to face her.

Jade offers a cute smile; it's warm and reassuring. Liam finds himself smiling in return. He'd found his own little family here in Ireland, people who care for him, who don't remind him every day of what he lost. Not that he doesn't love Zayn; they'd become each other’s rocks over the past year. It's just sometimes when he looks at Zayn; he sees that small glint missing from those hazel eyes. The same glint he assumes is missing in his own eyes. It makes the ache in his heart return and each time it does, it's harder to ignore.

"Got you a pint." Niall says, suddenly appearing at the table.

The Irish lad dumps a full pint glass next to Liam's elbow and straddles one of the chairs to the left of the bench.

"Thanks, man." Liam turns his attention to Niall.

Niall nods his head in Zayn's direction, pulling his own pint from his lips to ask. "Are they shitfaced?"

"Pretty much." Liam nods.

"He's gonna be wherever he should be hung-over then." Niall cackles. "Feel sorry for the lass or lad that's gotta deal with that."

"You're keeping your promise, right?"

Niall nods, taking another swig of his pint. "I'll keep ya and Zayn here, just get here as fast as ya can, yeah?"

"I'll try..." Liam glances at Zayn. "I can't make any promises on his behalf."

"We'll find him if he gets lost." Niall shrugs, drinking the rest of his pint in one. "Another?"

Liam looks at his full pint and then to his friend. "I'm still working on mine."

"Bambi?" Niall questions Jade.

Jade shakes her head with a blushed smile. Liam learned after only a few weeks of meeting Niall that he has a nickname for every person close to him. That's when he knew the blonde haired lad had accepted him, when he started getting called Payno rather than Li or Liam.

Niall heads back over to the bar and Liam teases Jade a little, until the blush on her cheeks is a beautiful crimson red. It goes like that for an hour, the two of them bantering back and forth, while Niall goes back and forth the bar. By the time the rest of the party as arrived, everyone's a little merry.

It's almost ten PM by the time Liam begs Niall to buy a round (even though the other lad had been getting his drinks for free, it being his pub and all) and he leaves a giggly Jade to deal with a tipsy Niall. He does a quick sweep of the room for Zayn, finding him across the pub by the pool tables, beer in hand as he watches Jesy try to beat her fiancé at a game.

"Two pints and a double vodka please Jerry." Liam asks, leaning his hip against the bar.

Jerry, one of Niall's many uncles, offers a wide grin before disappearing down the bar to make the drinks. Liam turns his attention away, looking around the mingling bodies. Everyone's so happy that another year of their lives are coming to an end, from young to old. Even Zayn seems to be across the pub with a smile on his face, now leaning over Perrie to help her pot the ball.

"You're the only sour face person in this place."

Liam turns faster than his body can calculate, falling off the bar and barley catching himself before he face pants the floor. The person who spoke laughs, bending down to be the same height as Liam, who's now kneeling on the floor.

"You never were one for gracefulness." Louis grins when Liam looks up.

Liam shakes his head, bringing the ends of his palms to his eyes and rubbing until it hurts. Louis reaches for his wrist, tugging his hand away.

"I'm not a mirage, if that's what's going through your head." He says.

"Louis--" His voice cracks at just that one word, the one word he'd not allowed himself to say for the past year.

Louis wraps an arm around his bicep and tugs him to his feet. "I didn't expect you react quite this way."

"What are you doing here?" Liam asks because what the hell is actually going on.

"Tomorrow, you'll meet them and I just..." Louis shakes his head and swallows loudly. "I can't--I can't live my life knowing you're happy with someone else. That's selfish of me, right?"

Liam looks down to the fingers still gripping tightly to his bicep and tries to control his breathing. "Harry?"

"He's here." Louis answers immediately, letting his eyes fall over Liam's shoulder.

Liam turns his head; his eyes automatically finding where he'd last saw Zayn. Sure enough there stands the body of the curly haired lad he'd left in his bedroom a year ago. Only Zayn's gripping to him, tanned hands clutching to the fabric of Harry's t-shirt and his face pressed to the other lads shoulder.

"We tried, Li." Louis says, pulling his attention back. "We tried as hard as we could to see why the world put us together and we get it, we do. We're compatible and Hazza's the greatest friend a guy could ask for--"

Liam holds his breath as the smile he loves breaks across Louis' face.

"He's not you and he never will be." Louis says adamantly.

This time it's Liam reaching out, curling his fingers around the back of Louis' neck and squeezing gently. "You're really here."

"Of course I am, you dumbass."

Liam kisses him then because if he hadn't spent the last year trying not to remember Louis, like he hadn’t spent the last year dreaming about his lips. Louis' kissing him back and it's everything he remembers, along with everything he wished he'd forgot.

It takes seconds for familiar hands to slip around his back and underneath his shirt, cold fingertips trying to gain warmth from the heat of his skin. Liam moves his hand from the back of Louis' neck, tugging him closer, making a pained noise when he can't get as much as he wants.

"I'm here." Louis hushes against his lips.

Liam closes his eyes, pressing their foreheads together.

"I just want tonight." Louis pleads. "You'll find your person tomorrow and even though it kills me, I’ll let you go. Just give me tonight?"

This time when Liam kisses him, it's slower and with less force. Liam tries to convey his answer through that one kiss, the big fat yes he wants to yell in the middle of the crowded pub.

Louis fingertips are warm now, gently stroking his spine until Liam's shirt restricts their path. Liam keeps his fingers knotted in Louis' hair, kissing him until the numbness in his lips is almost painful.

When they pull back, he's aware of the several sets of eyes on them. He leans forward to bury his blushed cheeks in to Louis' bare collarbone.

"Hi." Louis greets loudly.

Liam bites at his skin playfully.

"Liam..." Harry's voice calls from across the bar.

He barley has time to pull away from Louis before a body is being pummeled against his back, a cold nose pressed to the junction of his neck. Liam looks down to see familiar long fingers gripping tightly to the front of his shirt and when he squints, he spots the scar, just above the end of the pinky.

"Harry." He breathes.

"Thank you for looking after Zayn." Harry mumbles in to the skin of his neck.

Liam smiles a little, reaching down to the hands on his waist and squeezing them gently.

"Lets get a drink..." Louis announces, turning his attention to Jerry. He orders two more beers and another vodka and coke for Harry.

Harry finally releases Liam and he finds himself pressed to Louis' side on instinct, the act itself making his heart swell and stomach flip. Louis hands him his beer with a cheeky grin and Liam has to bury his face in the other lad’s neck, just to stop himself becoming overpowered with fondness.

When Jerry's poured the other drinks, they head back over to where their friends are grouped around the pool table. Liam hands Jade her drink while he nods for Louis to hand Niall the spare beer.

"So this is the famous Louis?" Niall asks, smiling thankfully as he takes the beer.

"Harry's the famous one." Louis shrugs, coming back over to Liam and pressing as close to him as he possibly can.

"I can see that too." Niall says, his eyes on Harry and Zayn, now curled at one of the tables close to the pool table.

"Louis as in The Louis?" Jade questions.

"I guessed you told them about me then." Louis comments, tilting his head to look at Liam.

Liam tightens the grip he has around Louis' waist. "I just told Ni, he tends not to keep his mouth shut."

"I'm a barman, not a shrink." Niall shrugs. "There's no written piece of paper saying if you confide in me that I have to keep it a secret."

Liam looks over at him and Niall smiles; he knows the other lad wouldn't really tell anyone, not if Liam didn't want him too. Most of the pub knows about Louis because of the few times Liam had gotten drunk after his shift, cried to whoever was serving until closing time and Niall dragged him home.

"Isn't tonight the night for you, Liam?" Jesy asks from where she's sat on the pool table, her fiancé between her legs.

"I asked him for one last night." Louis explains, fond eyes looking at Liam.

It sounds completely cheesy and so very Louis, he finds himself pressing his lips to the other lads temple. The girls coo while Niall rolls his eyes. Everyone stops the questions after that, turning their attention back to celebrating the end of the year.

Liam keeps Louis pinned to his side the entire night, and when the countdown starts, there's five of them curled together in the crowded pub. Louis' got his arm wrapped around Liam's waist, fingers curled around the fingers of his shirt as his other hand is entwined with Harry's. Harry's curled in to Zayn, limbs awkwardly wrapped around the other lad but the look on Zayn's face lets him know he wouldn't have it any other way. Niall's placed between the four of them, Zayn and Liam's arms overlapping over his shoulder.

As the countdown reaches one, he has Louis' lips pressed against his. It's a soft kiss and doesn't last nearly long enough. Zayn's hand is tight around his forearm and Niall's making a noise of complaint about feeling single. Harry's pulled away from Zayn to press a slobbery kiss to the Irishman’s cheek and Liam can't help but laugh when he watches the tips of Niall's ears turn pink.

"Can we go back to yours?" Louis whispers against his ear when the hype had calmed down.

Liam glances down at him and then over to his other friends. Zayn's tugging Harry back in to his own grip and when his eyes meet Liam's, he's nodding, like he's answering a question that hasn't been asked.

"Yeah." Liam replies to Louis. "Yeah, lets go."

They say their goodbyes to the appropriate people and Harry holds on to him longer than necessary when they hug. Liam thinks he knows, that when Louis goes, then so does Harry and this is probably the last time they'll ever get to see each other. The thought makes him hold on to the younger lad just that big longer in return. Niall demands he not be late for his shift on Thursday but squeezes Liam a little when he says it, in only eight months of knowing the lad, he knows what that gesture means – be careful. Zayn grips the back of his head when they pull back from hugging, whispering he loves him. Only then does he realise how much he'd relied on Zayn the past year, and how much he's going to rely on him again after tomorrow.

Louis holds out his hand when Liam steps away from Zayn. "Ready?"

The fingers fit between his like a puzzle piece and he finds himself stroking the pad of his thumb across the skin of Louis' hand, as he's lead out of the pub.

It's a few minutes walk from the pub back to his apartment block and neither of them speak the entire time. Louis does keeps smiling at him and gripping at Liam's hand so tight that their hands are clammy by the time they reach his apartment. Liam unlocks the door, nudging it open just as Louis begins to lay kisses against his neck.

The minute they're inside the apartment, Louis has him pinned to the wall, already working on the buttons of his shirt. Loki acknowledges them from his place on his bed but rests his back down as soon as he recognizes Liam's face. Liam's got his own hands stroking Louis' hips underneath his t-shirt. He tries to focus on Louis' lips against the now exposed skin of his chest but he needs something else, he doesn't want unspoken words this time.

"Lou..." He breaths and Louis hums in reply.

"Lou, Lou..." He grabs Louis fingers where they're reaching for his belt buckle. "Talk to me."

Louis' dilated blue eyes glare at him but soon soften when Liam offers him an uneasy smile. "What do you want me to talk about, Love?"

"Just talk." Liam says resting his head back against the wall Louis has him pushed against.

Louis' nimble fingers slip over his shoulders, slowly pushing the shirt away from his body. "Remember that little cafe just off campus?"

He nods, picturing it in his mind. It had shitty little wooden chairs that Liam could barley fit in half the time, and it had a chalk bored that Louis would always write on, even though the waitress would yell at him every single time. They used to go there after classes, or on their days off, it was quiet and quaint. Perfect for studying (Liam) and had the best coffee to sleep off a hangover (Louis).

"We went there when you were revising for your first year exams." Louis says, undoing the buttons on the cuffs of Liam's shirt.

Liam lifts his head from where it's resting on the wall, to look down at what Louis' doing. Once Louis had undone one and tugged Liam's hand through it, he gets to work on the other one.

"You were so stressed, you kept biting my head off for just appearing at your room." Louis continues, tugging the shirt completely from Liam's body. "I thought if we escaped campus, got away from it all for a bit, then maybe you'd relax and I’d like you again."

He looks up at Liam with a cheeky smile, his hands sliding across Liam's lower abdomen. "You only had to go and bring the bloody work along with you. I was so mad."

Liam curls his fingers around the end of Louis' shirt, pulling it up until Louis complies and lifts his arms.

"You were such an uptight arse when we first started dating." Louis says, moving his hands around Liam's waist until he can bury them down the back of his jeans. "I did such a good job at corrupting you."

"I wouldn't take it up as a profession." Liam replies, moving forward to brush his lips across Louis'.

"That would be such an awesome job." Louis beams, squeezing Liam's arse with both hands. "I need a title, like 'Louis The Corrupter'."

Liam laughs in to the kiss he presses to Louis' lips. "You're such a dork."

" _Your __dork." Louis replies quietly._

It's still manages to echo throughout the silent apartment. Liam suddenly wishes he hadn't asked Louis to speak at all and concludes the conversation by moving his own hands underneath Louis' arse. It's a testament to how long they've known each other that Louis makes quick work of moving his own hands out of Liam's jeans and around his neck. Liam hoists him up with two hands under his arse and Louis moves his legs around Liam's waist impulsively.

He buries his face in Louis' neck as he walks through the apartment; pressing butterfly kisses to the soft skin as his instinct leads them to the bedroom. He drops Louis on to the bed, and steps back, soaking the view in front of him for a moment. Louis lies there patiently, which is completely out of character and that pushes Liam to crawl on top of him.

Louis makes an _‘unf’ __sound against his lips as he surges in for a kiss. Leaning on the palms of his hand, to keep his weight from squishing the smaller lad. Louis makes an impatient sound, hooking a leg around Liam's waist to force him to drop his weight down. Liam drops down on to one of his elbows, bringing his other hand up to cup Louis' jaw, making sure their lips never part._

He wants to kiss every inch of skin, wants to commit every little freckle and scar to memory. He wants to make Louis make those noises he faintly remembers so he can hold on to them forever, play them in his mind like the lyrics to his favourite song. He wants to never forget the way Louis' lips feel beneath his own, soft and pliant, the complete opposite to Louis' character.

Louis lifts his hips up impatiently, his blunt fingetips now digging in to the skin of Liam's hip. Liam moves his hip downwards, his cock straining against the material of his jeans. They rut off against each other like that, like two teenagers to impatient for sex. Liam comes embarrassingly fast, as if it's a reminder of what he'd missed out on over the past year. The reason why the only thing he'd had to get himself off was his hand, it makes him push harder in to the kiss and press down harder on Louis, pulling the other lad to his orgasm.

They pant each other’s mouths for a good few minutes before Liam finally rolls to the side. Louis moves on top of him, a glint in his eye that let's Liam know he's not even close to done.

"I love you." The older lad whispers, leaning forward to press a love bite to the edge of Liam's jaw.

Liam moves his hands up to grip at the flesh of his hips and digs his fingers in, wanting to leave his own reminder. Louis whines but the pain isn't from Liam's hands, it's something that Liam can feel is own bones, its goodbye.

///

"Go to sleep." Louis commands, his forehead pressed against Liam's.

Liam brings their intertwined fingers up to his lips and blinks his exhausted eyes, the sun will be rising soon and he really wished it wouldn't.

"Liam, you need to sleep." Louis mumbles. "I don't want to leave while you're still awake."

Liam closes his eyes only to open them again seconds later. "I love you."

"I love you too." Louis replies, brushing Liam's hair from his forehead. "Please go to sleep, Love."

Louis' hand is warm on the lower part of his back and his still cold feet are pressed to the bare skin of Liam's calf. It's familiar; it's his Louis. Even if his mind lets him think about how this won't be how he wakes up. He's exhausted enough to bask in the comfort and let his body slowly be lulled to sleep.

~~

A sound of a woman's voice over an intercom pulls Liam' from his dreams. He blinks eyes open to find himself in an airport waiting area, the sound of happy holidaymakers surrounding him. He glances around to try and get his bearings and the airport is familiar, to familiar. There's a bag on the chair beside him and Liam reaches out to search for it, only the hand he reaches out for isn't unfamiliar, it's so familiar it makes him feel sick.

"Liam?"

Liam turns his head and Harry is sitting in the chair beside him, his hair flat on one side from where he's slept. Only when Liam looks, really looks, he see's it, those green eyes are looking at him the way copper ones had for the past year.

"Zayn?"

Harry's head nods and he coughs to clear his throat. "This is fucking weird, man."

"Does this mean..." Liam starts and then he's collecting the bag from the chair beside him. Liam needs to get out of this airport and to his apartment; he has to know.

"Liam." Zayn calls after him and he's trying to maneuver Harry's body to chase after Liam. It's seems no one can control Harry's lanky frame, including the lad that was born in it.

"Where's Harry?" Liam asks as they rush through the airport. "I mean, where did you fall asleep last night? Where is he in your body?"

"The pub." Zayn replies. "We fell asleep on one of the pool tables."

Liam shoots him a wide-eyed. "You didn't..."

Zayn drops Harry's head coyly and rubs at the back of his neck. "Well you and Lou had the apartment."

"Niall's gonna kill you when he finds out." Liam laughs and it's Louis' laugh and hearing it makes his legs move that little bit faster.

Zayn trips six times as they rush back out of the airport and ends up throwing an arm around Liam's shoulder just to keep Harry's body upright. Liam moves Louis' arm around Harry's waist as he uses the other to call a cab. Chewing down on Louis' lip impatiently as he waits for one to pull up.

"Mullingar, please." He tells the driver as they climb in to the back of the cab.

Zayn’s fiddles with Harry's jeans that seem to be vibrating under Liam's palm, where his hand is still resting around the other lads' waist. Liam glances down at the caller ID when Zayn finally gets the phone out and Zayn's own face is staring back at him.

"Harry?" Zayn says in to the phone as a form of greeting.

A smile spreads across Harry's lips as Zayn leans Harry's body more in to his side. Liam squeezes Harry's waist gently, smiling when Zayn glances up at him with ecstatic eyes. He tries bite down the nervous feeling that overcomes him when he thinks of why Louis hasn't ringed him.

It's an hour’s drive from the airport back to the little town in Mullingar where they had settled. The entire drive Zayn spends talking to Harry, the dimples indented in Harry's cheeks for so long, he's worried they won't ever disappear.

Liam pays the driver when they pull up outside the apartment block, climbing out faster than Zayn can tell him about how he's going on the pub. He skips the lift, instead sprinting up the seven flights of the floor. He's completely out of breath when he finally reaches the seventh floor, which reminds him he's in Louis body. Louis who goes to the gym twice a year, once after Christmas and then again before the summer, thinking that will be enough to keep his body in shape. Apparently he's as wrong as Liam told him he was.

"Louis?" He calls out, banging on the apartment door.

There's no reply- apart from Loki's incessant barking - and Liam keeps hitting his fist against the wood, all kinds of scenarios running through his head. There's one stuck on repeat, one where there's someone else inside the apartment – someone he doesn't know. But if it's not Louis inside, he dreads to think where Louis had gone.

"For Christ sake, Lou!" He shouts. "If you're in there, you better open the fucking door."

Liam's about to give up, turn on his foot and begin his search for Louis when the apartment door opens. He's met with his own body, sleepy eyed and hair everywhere.

"You can't pull off sassy as well as I can." Louis pulls Liam's lips up in to a smirk and it looks completely weird to see from another persons perspective, his eyes really do disappear on themselves when he smiles, Niall wasn't joking.

"I'm gonna kill you." Liam cries, launching forward to press Louis lips to his own?

There's a moment of blackness, where all he can feel is chapped lips and then they turn in to the soft and compliant ones he's used to. His arms are wrapped around Louis' neck and Louis' are gripping to his and they're back in their own bodies.

"It's you." Louis whispers, smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "I told you: _it was always you __."_

"You're such a dork." Liam tells him, tugging Louis inside the apartment by the sleeve of his hoodie.

Louis bites as his bottom lip, tugging at it until a smile covers Liam's face. " _Your_ dork."

This time Liam doesn't silence him with his lips; he has Louis repeat the statement, over and over again until it's mixed in with the moans of Liam's name.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the beautiful [Kecia](http://lovedbyliam.tumblr.com) for being my beta once again. I'm sorry I enforce my terrible fic ideas on you.


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